JP4069230B2 - Dosing system and cartridge - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In summary, the present invention relates to a mechanism for dispensing a drug through an outflow nozzle, and more particularly to a one-way for a dispensing system that dispenses a drug from a vial dispenser that is actuated by pressurization or trigger action. The present invention relates to an operation release mechanism.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Among the various dispensers for dispensing medication, a typical medication container includes a soft vial reservoir and a nozzle for dispensing a metered amount of medication by compressing the vial between the side walls. Another type of drug dispenser is an accordion or piston dispenser that operates by compressing the vial between the bottom wall and the nozzle and pressurizes the vial longitudinally rather than from the side. The present invention is particularly directed to a dispenser system comprising such an accordion or piston dispenser, but may be used in conjunction with other types of dispensers. An example of a piston-like dispenser that discharges a pre-metered dose of drug is described in detail in US Pat. No. 5,613,957 by the present inventor.
[0003]
There are usually several factors that make medication difficult. First of all, it is often the case for fairly old people that it is difficult to hold the dispenser firmly or to compress the dispenser to administer the appropriate amount of medication. In addition, even young people who can hold the dispenser firmly may have problems in accurately administering the drug by actuation of certain types of dispensers. For example, when dispensing with a normal type of nasal dispenser, the tip of the nozzle is first placed inside the nostril, and then the tip of the nozzle is moved from the nostril by pressurizing the dispenser when the drug is released. As a result, the drug may also be administered to the eyes and other unintended subjects.
[0004]
Even when a drug is dispensed correctly as intended, the dosage of the drug is usually not constant due to the operating speed and / or operating force of the pump mechanism. Furthermore, the spray pattern of the medicine varies depending on the operating speed and operating force of the pump mechanism.
[0005]
Another problem associated with drug dispensers is manufacturing complexity, and pump-type drug dispensers currently consist of numerous parts and require careful assembly. Many pump-type dispensers incorporate a spring, which creates a problem in the dispenser manufacturing process because the spring is easily entangled.
[0006]
One attempt to solve the above-mentioned problems related to drug administration from a dispenser is described in US Pat. No. 5,267,986 by the present inventor, in which a piston or accordion is used to administer the drug to the eye. A system comprising a cartridge for operating a vial dispenser is disclosed. The cartridge disclosed in US Pat. No. 5,267,986 includes a housing that holds a vial dispenser, a telescoping cylinder that pressurizes the vial dispenser longitudinally to fill the vial with a drug, and a spring mechanism for the vial dispenser. The locking mechanism that locks the telescoping cylinder and vial dispenser in the filling position, and the telescoping cylinder and vial dispenser are released from the locked position so that the drug contained in the dispenser is moved by the force of the spring mechanism. And a trigger mechanism for discharging. In order to eliminate the need for a separate spring element in the vial dispenser pump mechanism, a portion of the vial dispenser body is made of a compressible spring-loaded elastic material. This two-step process of releasing medication from the vial dispenser after filling the cartridge disclosed in US Pat. No. 5,267,986 demonstrates the basic operation of “reverse pump”. An example of a “reverse pump” is shown in US Pat. No. 5,613,957.
[0007]
The dispenser system disclosed in US Pat. No. 5,267,986 allows a user to administer a predetermined amount of drug regardless of the physical force applied to the dispenser system by the user. While attempting to solve the aforementioned problems, the force and rate at which the dispensed drug is released depends on the integral spring element of the dispenser system. Whereas conventional pump dispensers often use a system that compresses along the axis as the drug is dispensed, the opening mechanism disclosed in US Pat. It operates favorably in a direction perpendicular to the axis, ensuring more ease of use for the user.
[0008]
Since elastic materials, particularly elastomeric materials and springs tend to have hysteresis, the spring force is reduced if the spring mechanism is held in a compressed position, i.e., a filled position and a fixed position. . If the spring is returned to its unbiased state for a short time and maintained in that state, it will usually return to its original state even if the spring is deformed. In the case of being held in a compressed state after passing (depending on the material), a phenomenon that does not return to its original state while being deformed, that is, creep may occur. The amount of spring force loss depends on how much a particular spring material tends to “creep”, and metal springs tend to “creep” much more than plastic springs. It is well known that there are few. The hysteresis of the elastic material forming the spring mechanism of the pump disclosed in US Pat. No. 5,613,957 will cause some loss of spring properties if the spring element is held in compression for an extended period of time. It is.
[0009]
There are two examples that actually suggest the hysteresis problem with the dispenser system disclosed in US Pat. No. 5,267,986. The first example is when the user has filled the dispenser system but has not actuated the opening mechanism for several minutes due to some obstruction. When the opening mechanism is finally actuated, the hysteresis of the spring mechanism will cause the dose of drug released to be different from the dose released in the normal state. A second example is when the user has filled the dispenser system, but then forgets about the filled system and has not actuated the opening mechanism for weeks or months. In this situation, not only is the first dose released different from the metered dose, but because of a kind of permanent deformation, i.e. "creep", the next discharged dose is also metered. It will be different from the minute dose.
[0010]
In view of the above-described problems regarding spring deformation, it is desirable to have a drug administration system that allows a user to fill and administer a drug in a vial with a single actuation action.
[0011]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
It is an object of the present invention to provide a drug administration system that accurately discharges a small amount of drug in one operation of first filling the system with the drug and then dispensing the filled drug.
[0012]
In addition, the present invention provides a system that includes an actuation mechanism that actuates a vial dispenser of a type having a spring configuration, such as an accordion-like or piston-like vial dispenser, that requires minimal actuation force on the actuation mechanism. It is intended to provide.
[0013]
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a system that greatly reduces the likelihood of spring characteristic hysteresis being seen in the spring elements of the dispenser system.
[0014]
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a system that ensures that the discharged dose does not deviate significantly from the metered dose.
[0015]
Furthermore, the present invention provides a more effective use for the user by the action of the actuating mechanism for dispensing the filled drug being performed in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the vial dispenser, the actuating action being a compression of the spring element. The object is to provide a system that is not parallel to the axis.
[0016]
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system that can accurately dispense a small amount of medication in a stable manner regardless of the physical pressure applied by the user to the actuation mechanism.
[0017]
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a system having the above features that is easy to manufacture because it has a simple structure and has a small number of components, and therefore does not require a separate spring element. It is said.
[0020]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The object is achieved by the present invention which provides a drug delivery system in which the cartridge or housing is particularly well adapted for the operation of an accordion-like or piston-like vial dispenser. The vial dispenser has an accordion-shaped front bellows (bellows) near the tip, a rear vial or liquid storage chamber at the rear, and a rear bellows located between the front bellows and the rear vial. is doing. The drop cavity or dosing cavity may be placed inside either the front bellows or the rear bellows and holds a premeasured amount of drug filled from the liquid reservoir. Further, the internal piston mechanism in the vial dispenser operates while being in contact with the front and rear bellows parts, thereby releasing the drug contained in the drop cavity.
[0021]
The housing includes an elongated body suitable for receiving a vial dispenser disposed between the front wall and the rear wall of the housing. The rear wall of the housing may form part of the rear chamber of the housing, in which case the rear chamber of the housing houses the rear vial portion of the vial dispenser. The front wall of the housing has an opening through which the vial nozzles exit. The nozzle is in a state of being appropriately pulled inward within the front of the housing so as not to damage the cornea by protruding from the opening and accidentally contacting the front with the eye.
[0022]
Disposed at the top of the housing is a hook-shaped trigger mechanism that, when pushed down, moves away from the front wall of the housing by operating together through a notched lever disposed within the housing. The front bellows is stretched in the direction and further the rear bellows of the vial dispenser is compressed toward the rear chamber. In the embodiment of the vial dispenser described herein, the front bellows portion is extended and the rear bellows portion is compressed so that a predetermined dosage of medication enters the dosing cavity located in front of the dispenser and is dispensed. The cavity is “filled”.
[0023]
Continuing with the triggering action, when the front bellows portion of the vial dispenser is extended a predetermined distance by the notched lever inside the housing, the notched lever is moved by the wedge-shaped arm extending from the rear wall of the housing. It will be in the state where it was removed from the part. When released from the notched lever, the front bellows portion contracts and the rear bellows portion extends in the direction of the front wall of the housing. Along with the movement of the front bellow part and the rear bellows part, the movement of the internal piston mechanism generates a pressure for pushing out the medicine from the medication cavity via the front nozzle of the vial dispenser.
[0024]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The dosing system according to the present invention comprises a housing or cartridge 100 as shown in FIG. 1, which houses and cooperates with an accordion-like or piston-like vial dispenser 200 as shown in FIGS. Suitable for operation. Although the present invention is described in connection with the vial dispenser of FIGS. 2-4, the present invention is not limited to this particular dispenser.
[0025]
As shown in FIG. 2, the vial dispenser shown generally at 200 includes a nozzle 2, a front wing 3, a front bellows portion 4, a rear wing 6, a rear bellows portion 7, and a rear vial portion, And a liquid storage chamber 8 for storing a liquid medicine storage replenisher. The vial dispenser 200 is compressible in the longitudinal direction along the bellows. In order to achieve this object, the front and rear bellows 4 and 7 are each made of a soft soft plastic material such as a thermoplastic resin sold as a common name Kraton manufactured by Shell. The resilience of the dispenser is obtained by the spring action of the front and rear bellows formed by a craton that has an excellent restoring force and functions as an excellent spring.
[0026]
As shown in FIG. 3, the vial dispenser 200 further includes a drop cavity, or dosing cavity 31, within which a predetermined amount of liquid is expelled from the nozzle 2 when the dispensing system is activated. Further, the pump type piston 9 in the vial dispenser is fixed to the rear wing 6 so that the piston 9 moves together with the rear wing 6. Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a conduit channel 10 connecting the rear vial part 8 and the front bellows part 4 and a circumferential channel 11 arranged inside the front bellows part 4 are provided, Serves as a conduit for supplying medication to the drop cavity 31 during operation of the dosing system. As described in more detail below, the drug is continuously filled from the rear vial portion 8 into the drop cavity with a single actuation of the triggering mechanism of the dosing system, and then the drug is passed through the nozzle 2 from the drop cavity. Perform the action of discharging.
[0027]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cartridge or housing 100 of the dosing system according to the present invention is typically cylindrical, but may be other easily handled. The housing 100 includes a front wall body 104 having an opening 106 provided in the center for discharging a medicine from the nozzle 2, a rear wall body 105, and a wedge-shaped arm 103 extending from the rear wall body 105 to the inside. , A trigger 101 and a lever 102 with an internal notch that operates with the trigger 101.
[0028]
As shown in FIG. 2, when the vial dispenser 200 is stationary, the vial dispenser 200 is stationary with the front wing 3 being pressed against the front wall body 104, and is stationary with the rear vial portion 8 being pressed against the rear wall body 105. In addition, the lever 102 with the notch is disposed inside the housing 100 so as to be engaged with the rear wing 6. The housing 100 is preferably dimensioned so that the dispenser 200 can be properly housed in the housing so that the nozzle 2 is fully retracted into the opening 106 of the front wall 104. Not only can the outside of the nozzle be kept clean, but also the nozzle 2 can be prevented from accidentally contacting the eye. Further, the rear wall 105 may form a rear chamber that houses the rear vial portion 8 together with the wedge-shaped arm 103.
[0029]
As is apparent from the resting state shown in FIG. 2, the dispensing system according to the present invention operates by depressing the trigger 101. At the same time that the trigger 101 is depressed, the notched lever 102 moves laterally toward the rear wall 105 while engaging the rear wing 6, thereby causing the axis of the vial dispenser 200 to move as shown in FIG. The front bellows part 4 extends along the rear and the rear bellows part 7 is compressed. As is clear from FIGS. 2 and 3, when the front bellows portion is extended by the notched lever 102 that meshes with the rear blade 6, the internal pump type piston 9 also moves laterally toward the rear wall body 105. When the front bellows part 4, the pump type piston 9, and the rear bellows part 7 operate as one unit, a drop is generated in the drop cavity 31 by pressure, and the drop cavity is filled, that is, “filling”. The drug is carried from the rear vial portion 8 through the conduit channel 10 and the circumferential channel 11.
[0030]
The operation sequence will be further described. By further depressing the trigger 101, the notched lever 102 finally reaches a position where it comes into contact with the wedge-shaped arm 103. At this time, the wedge-shaped arm is engaged with the notched lever 102, and the notched lever is pulled up and removed from the rear wing 6 as shown in FIG. When released from the notched lever 102, the rear wing 6 and the pump type piston 9 move toward the front wall body 104 by the spring action of the front bellows portion 4 and the rear bellows portion 7 as shown in FIG. 4. Pressure is generated by the movement of the pump type piston 9, and the medicine is discharged from the drop cavity 31 through the nozzle 2. Next, when the trigger 101 is released, the notched lever 102 is detached from the wedge-shaped arm 103, and the notched lever 102 can quickly return to the stationary state of FIG.
[0031]
When the dosing system according to the present invention is used for eye dosing, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, it extends from the housing 100 to the outside of the front wall 104 and protrudes forward from the front side of the housing 100. A finger 107 may further be provided. The finger 107 is curved upward so that the smooth surface 107a is placed on the lower eyelid, and is preferably covered with a soft sleeve. The finger is preferably coated with a material such as craton. However, even when administering to the eye, the finger 107 protruding forward is used by completely optional. For use other than eye medication, whether or not the finger 107 protruding forward is partially changed or completely removed from the front lower portion of the housing 100 is determined by consideration based on practicality.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the foregoing description, one of the advantages of the dosing system according to the present invention is that the front and rear bellows are not “locked” in a deformed state for a long time. It is mentioned that there is actually no possibility that a hysteresis which is a spring characteristic is seen in the part. Therefore, with the dosing system according to the present invention, it is ensured that the dispensed dose is not much different from the metered dose.
[0033]
Another advantage of the dosing system according to the present invention is that the movement of the trigger 101 is perpendicular to the axis of the dosing system. Accordingly, since the movement of pushing down the trigger is not in the direction of the eye, there is almost no risk of accidentally hitting the eyeball with the nozzle 2.
[0034]
Yet another advantage of the dosing system according to the present invention is that with only one actuation of the trigger 101, the user can fill the drop cavity and release a predetermined amount of drug. The medication system according to the present invention is particularly effective for patients with arthritis because the drug can be easily dropped by the trigger mechanism and can be instilled more accurately. Furthermore, when the finger 107 protruding forward is provided in the lower front portion of the housing 100, the protruding eye 107 can expose the eye's sac, so that when administering a drug, the sensitivity is low and tears The cecum of the eye, which is a region with a low output volume, is particularly considered as a subject of use of the present invention.
[0035]
In the foregoing description, the invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments. However, various modifications may be made without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. It will be clear that modifications and changes can be made. For example, the cartridge or housing may be used in combination with a variety of vial dispensers not specifically described herein, for example, as disclosed in US Pat. No. 5,613,957 by the inventor cited herein. You may combine with a vial dispenser. Further, the spring action of the soft plastic material forming the front and rear bellows may be replaced by a longitudinally arranged spring that returns the vial dispenser to its original position when released from the compressed state. Furthermore, although the present specification has been described with the vial dispenser having an accordion-shaped front bellows portion and rear bellows portion, the dispenser may be replaced with one incorporating a spring structure other than that, For example, a single spring element that is integral with or separate from the dispenser body may be used. Further, the specific arrangement of trigger 101, notched lever 102, and wedge-shaped arm 103 may be modified, for example, trigger 101 and notched lever 102 may be formed apart from each other and / or housing 100. Good. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a housing of a dosing system according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a detailed side view of a dispensing system comprising a housing and a vial dispenser according to the present invention, showing the dispensing system in a stationary position.
FIG. 3 is a detailed side view of a dispensing system comprising a housing and vial dispenser according to the present invention, showing the dispensing system in an intermediate position during operation of the trigger mechanism.
FIG. 4 is a detailed side view of a dispensing system comprising a housing and a vial dispenser according to the present invention, showing the dispensing system in an open position during actuation of a trigger mechanism.
[Explanation of symbols]
2. . . 2. nozzle, . . Front wing, 4. . . Forward bellows,
6). . . 6. rear wing, . . 7. rear bellows section; . . Liquid storage room,
9. . . Piston, 10. . . Conduit channel,
11. . . Circumferential channel, 31. . . Medication (drop) cavity,
100. . . Cartridge (housing), 101. . . trigger,
102. . . Lever with internal notch, 103. . . Wedge-shaped arm,
104. . . Front wall, 105. . . Rear wall, 106. . . Aperture,
107. . . Finger, 200. . . Vial dispenser

Claims (25)

A vial holding a certain amount of drug;
An elastically deformable body that allows fluid to pass through the vial and accommodates a piston mechanism and a predetermined amount of a dispensing cavity for receiving a drug from the vial, wherein the piston mechanism is operatively deformable And a main body that moves along the axis of the main body at the same time the main body deforms along the axis,
A nozzle connected to the deformable body and capable of discharging the medicament contained in the dosing cavity;
A housing that holds the vial, the deformable main body, and the nozzle, and includes a front wall including an opening that accommodates the nozzle, the nozzle, the main body, and the vial. A housing accommodated in a substantially straight line in this order along the axis of the housing from the front end of the housing to the rear end of the housing;
A trigger operably connected to the housing that activates the dosing system to continuously fill the dosing cavity from the vial into the dosing cavity and then drains the dosing cavity from the dosing cavity in a single actuation action When,
A lever that is operatively connected to the trigger and that releasably engages the deformable body when the body is in an enclosed position, wherein the lever enters the first stage of the actuating operation of the trigger and 1 is movable in the direction of the non-enclosed position, and at least a part of the deformable body is deformed, and the piston mechanism is moved along the axis in the rear end direction of the housing. A lever that causes a drug to flow from the vial into the dosing cavity to fill the dosing cavity;
In a release arm disposed within the housing and facing the lever in the first non-enclosed position so that the lever is released from the deformable body at the same time that the actuating operation continues into the second stage; At the same time when the deformable body comes off the lever, it returns to the enclosed position, and the piston mechanism moves in the nozzle direction together with the deformable body, thereby pressurizing the drug in the dosing cavity and A dispensing system comprising a release arm that is discharged through the nozzle.   The system of claim 1, wherein the deformable body comprises at least one bellows-shaped portion.   The system of claim 2, wherein the housing is substantially cylindrical and the trigger is coupled to the housing along a radial surface of the housing.   The system of claim 3, wherein the trigger operates in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the housing.   The system of claim 4, wherein the trigger and the lever are integrally formed with the housing.   The system of claim 5, wherein the bellows-shaped portion is formed of a thermoplastic material.   The system of claim 6, further comprising a finger for hanging on an eyelid that protrudes from an outer surface of the housing and extends to a forward point from the front wall.   The system of claim 1, wherein the housing is substantially cylindrical and the trigger is coupled to the housing along a radial surface of the housing.   The system of claim 8, wherein the trigger operates in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the housing.   The system of claim 9, wherein the trigger and the lever are integrally formed with the housing. When the medication dispenser is actuated, a metered amount of drug is continuously filled from the vial into the cavity, and then deformed by the elastic and deformable body of the dispenser being deformed longitudinally until it reaches the deformed position. In a cartridge used in combination with a medication dispenser of the type in which the possible body returns to the enclosed position and at the same time the metered dose of medication is discharged from the nozzle, the cartridge comprises:
A housing having a front wall having an opening for holding the dispenser and receiving a nozzle of the dispenser;
A trigger operatively connected to the housing to actuate the dispenser to fill the cavity with the drug from the vial and then drain the drug from the cavity through the nozzle in a single actuation action; And a lever that releasably engages the deformable body when the body is in an enclosed position, wherein the lever enters a first stage of the actuating operation of the trigger and a first The deformable body is movable toward an unenclosed position and is deformed along the axis in the direction of the rear end of the housing until reaching the deformation position, whereby the deformation causes a drug to move from the vial to the cavity. A lever that flows into and fills the cavity;
In a release arm disposed within the housing and facing the lever in the first non-enclosed position so that the lever is released from the deformable body at the same time that the actuating operation continues into the second stage; A cartridge comprising a release arm, wherein the deformable main body is released from the lever and simultaneously returned to the surrounding position to pressurize the medicine in the cavity and discharge the medicine through the nozzle. .   The cartridge of claim 11, wherein the deformable body comprises at least one bellows-shaped portion.   The cartridge of claim 12, wherein the housing is generally cylindrical and the trigger is coupled to the housing along a radial surface of the housing.   The cartridge of claim 13, wherein the trigger operates in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the housing.   The cartridge according to claim 14, wherein the trigger and the lever are formed integrally with the housing.   The cartridge according to claim 15, wherein the bellows portion is formed of a thermoplastic material.   The cartridge according to claim 16, further comprising a finger for hanging on the eyelid protruding from the outer surface of the housing and extending to a front point from the front wall.   The housing is substantially cylindrical, the trigger is coupled to the housing along a radial surface of the housing, and the trigger is actuated in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the housing. The cartridge according to claim 11.   The cartridge according to claim 18, wherein the trigger and the lever are formed integrally with the housing. A vial holding a certain amount of drug;
An elastically deformable body for passing a fluid through the vial and containing a predetermined amount of a dosing cavity for receiving a drug from the vial;
A nozzle connected to the deformable body and capable of discharging the medicament contained in the dosing cavity;
A housing for holding the vial, the deformable body, and the nozzle, the housing having a front wall with an opening for receiving the nozzle;
A single actuation action of a trigger causes an open actuation mechanism to actuate the dosing system to continuously fill the medication cavity from the vial into the medication cavity and then drain the medication from the medication cavity And the opening mechanism, wherein the opening mechanism deforms at least a part of the deformable body together with the first stage of the operation of the trigger, and the deformation of the deformable body A drug flows from the vial into the dosing cavity, fills the dosing cavity, and the actuating operation of the trigger continues into the second stage, while the opening mechanism is disengaged from the deformable body and the opening As soon as the mechanism is removed, the deformable body returns to the enclosed position to pressurize the drug in the dosing cavity and Dispensing system comprising a medicament from an open operating mechanism, characterized in that discharging through said nozzle. The opening mechanism is
A lever that is operatively connected to the trigger and that releasably engages the deformable body when the body is in an enclosed position, wherein the lever enters the first stage of the actuating operation of the trigger and A lever capable of moving in the direction of one non-enclosed position and deforming the part of the deformable body;
A release disposed within the housing and facing the lever in the first non-enclosed position such that the actuating action of the trigger continues into the second stage and the lever is released from the deformable body at the same time. A release arm in which the deformable body is released from the lever and simultaneously returns to the enclosed position to pressurize the drug in the dosing cavity and eject the drug through the nozzle; The system according to claim 20.   The system of claim 21, wherein the deformable body comprises at least one bellows-shaped portion.   23. The system of claim 22, wherein the housing is substantially cylindrical and the trigger is coupled to the housing along a radial surface of the housing.   24. The system of claim 23, wherein the trigger operates in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the housing.   25. The system of claim 24, wherein the trigger and the lever are integrally formed with the housing.

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